The present invention pertains to user interfaces for multimedia entertainment and computing systems, particularly to remote control devices and methods for remotely controlling applications and the interfaces.
The home electronics industry, in the midst of an on-going convergence of televisions and computers, has produced a new class of products, known as PC-TV systems, or personal-computer-television systems. In their simplest form, these systems allow users to selectively switch between using a video monitor, or display, to watch television or to support computer activities, like word processing, creating spread sheets, playing computer games, or even surfing the world wide web. A seminal example, the Gateway Destination PC-TV system, from Gateway 2000, Inc., not only weds a television to a personal computer, but allows system expansion to include video-cassette recorders, laser-disc players, video cameras, direct-broadcast-satellite receivers, and so forth.
Another feature of systems such as the Gateway Destination system is the use of a remote control, or wireless keyboard, placed some distance from the computer, so that users may participate in home entertainment as a family, instead of individually. Due to the number of components capable of being connected in such a system, control of the various components can become tedious. A graphical user interface displayed on the computer screen may allow individual control of the components of the system.
A number of application programs for communication and navigation on the internet and world wide web are in common use, such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. These programs or browsers communicate with remote computer systems via the internet or other computer network. When executed, the browser software causes the computer to operate a network communication device such as a modem. When browsing the world wide web, a user navigates to different environments, known as web pages. On these web pages, any number of features may be present, including applets.
An applet is a small application that is often present on world wide web sites. Applets are typically also shipped with an operating or a larger product, such as the calculator that comes with Windows. Applets on world wide web sites are often written in a programming language known as Java. Java is a platform-independent programming language. Java programs are commonly referred to as applets since they are most often used for small, transportable programs.
Applets are commonly loaded into a web browser when a user is navigating web pages. The applets may modify their own user interfaces. Applications taking the form of software stored on the hard drive of a computer also have graphical user interfaces for control of the applications. These user interfaces are modifiable by the user and by the program as well. Each application or applet has its own individual user interface.
Programmable remote controls for operating the user interface of an application or applet require the user to specify which functions of the user interface of an application or applet are allocated to specific buttons on the remote control. When a new application or applet is loaded, in order to allow the remote control to function as a remote for the new application or applet, the remote control must be manually reprogrammed to control the functions of the new application or applet.
Applications and applets may modify their own user interfaces. However, each application or applet has its own functionality setup, and each application or applet generally has its own specific user interface.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a remote control with increased functionality for different applications and applets.
It would also be desirable to provide a graphical user interface having increased capability.
The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art by providing a method and apparatus for programming a remote control for multi-application or applet functionality, in which the user interface may be defined and redefined by the applications or applets.
A remote control unit embodiment of the present invention comprises a programmable remote control device having a transceiver for receiving and transmitting information, and a graphical user interface on the programmable remote control. The graphical user interface is responsively defined by an application or applet by receiving functionality information from the application via the transceiver.
In another embodiment of the present invention a remote control system for a computer comprises a programmable remote control having a transceiver for receiving and transmitting information from and to the computer, and a graphical user interface on the remote control. The graphical user interface controls an application loaded on the computer, and is redefinable to control a second application loaded on the computer responsive to the loading of the second application on the computer.
A controller embodiment of the present invention comprises at least one key responsive to the execution or activation of a first one of the computer-related applications or applets to provide a first control function and responsive to the execution or activation of a second one of the computer-related applications or applets to provide a second control function.
In yet another embodiment, the present invention comprises a computer system having a computer with a processor capable of executing a computer application or applet, a first graphical user interface for interfacing with the application or applet, and a controller having a second graphical user interface to display a set of controls for the application or applet. The second graphical user interface is responsive to a user activating or interfacing with the application or applet, and is also responsive to the user activating or interfacing with a second application or applet to redefine the second GUI to display a second set of controls for the second application.
A method embodiment for programming a remote control device for operation of a computer system comprises loading an application or applet on the computer, identifying the functionality of the application or applet, transmitting the identified functionality of the application or applet to a remote control, and defining a user interface on the remote control in response to the transmitted functionality. This user interface on the remote control may be redefined or modified when another application or applet is loaded on the computer.
Other embodiments and advantages of the invention will become apparent after considering the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.